Spirit Beasts and Spirit Insects-Gray Feather True Monarch

The current leader of the Golden Haze Sect is the Golden Whip True Monarch is at the Nascent Soul Early Stage.

It is said to be over seven hundred years old.

Wearing Golden Silk Crown and Seven Star Robe, he looked kind and gentle, and was actually very easy to talk to.

Upon learning that Xiao Chen wished to borrow books from the library, he immediately led him to the Scripture Pavilion and assured him that all the books were free to be read.

Not only that, he also sent several of his Direct Disciple to guard the entrance on the first floor.

Firstly, to prevent other disciples from going in and disturbing them; secondly, to wait here and await orders.

It was from here that Xiao Chen learned that the Golden Haze Sect actually had quite a few Direct Disciple, basically accounting for one-third of the total number of Golden Core True Person in the sect.

They belong to the category of those who, upon displaying even a slight talent, will receive personal guidance and instruction from the Golden Whip True Monarch.

Despite this, only five Golden Core Great Perfection were successfully trained.

It is still unknown when the second Nascent Soul True Lord will be born.

Therefore, Golden Whip True Monarch casually mentioned to Xiao Chen, "If you wish to sell Nascent Soul Spirit Item in the future, please be sure to inform me."

"Prices and everything else are negotiable; I certainly won't let you suffer a loss."

Judging from his words, the Golden Haze Sect Sect's Nascent Soul Spirit Item are probably already stretched thin or even exhausted.

Speaking of this, Xiao Chen had just obtained a bottle of Nascent Soul Preservation Pill.

However, he was not in a hurry to bring up the deal.

The main thing is that the Hundred Herbs City Exchange Meet coming up soon, and hard currency like Breakthrough Spirit Item might come in handy then.

Therefore, Xiao Chen only promised Golden Whip True Monarch that if he were to sell Nascent Soul Spirit Item in the future, he would give him priority.

Then he went to the Scripture Pavilion and began to carefully read the books related to raising Spirit Beast and spirit insects.

Judging from the situation of the Scripture Pavilion alone, the Golden Haze Sect and the Heavenly Sound Sect are actually quite similar.

They all store many classic texts about their own characteristics, giving them a distinct and unique style compared to other sects.

Through the detailed records of various Spirit Beast here, Xiao Chen also gained a deeper understanding of a lot of related knowledge.

For example, raising Spirit Beast requires designating specific habitats.

We also need to simulate its native environment as much as possible.

Simply put, place the Fire Spirit Beast in a place with Fire Qi, and place the Water Spirit Beast in a spirit spring or lake.

For example, Spirit Beast not only need to consume large amounts of spirit rice or spirit meat on a daily basis, but over time this also becomes a considerable expense.

Furthermore, it is necessary to prepare some key heavenly materials and earthly treasures in advance to assist in the advancement process.

Otherwise, if we let it seek advancement on its own...

They either struggle to find their rhythm for a long time and are unable to break through their limitations.

They could easily fail to break through, leading to serious injury or even death on the spot.

For example, Spirit Beast are not necessarily 100% loyal to their masters, especially after they have just broken through to the Major Realm or changed masters.

Once Spirit Beast's strength far surpasses that of its master, it may break free from its restraints at any time, or even turn around and Devour Master.

"Raising low-level Spirit Beast is such a hassle."

Xiao Chen couldn't help but shake his head. "Even if we're going to raise one in the future, it has to be a Spirit Beast that can take human form."

"Then let it feed itself and take care of itself."

He was already being quite generous by not expecting his Spirit Beast Spirit Beast to take care of him; he simply didn't want to put in any extra effort to care for it.

Fortunately, Fourth-Order Spirit Beast can transform into human form and also possess considerable Spiritual Intelligence.

As long as the master can provide cultivation resources, there's really not much to worry about.

"Unfortunately, there are almost no records about spirit insects on these lower levels."

Xiao Chen has reached the top level, but he has not yet seen any detailed records about spirit insects; most ancient texts only mention them briefly.

Only a few books mention that low-level cultivators are not suitable for raising spirit insects and should focus on raising Spirit Beast.

After browsing through the books on the top shelf, he finally realized that there was more to it than Profound Mystery.

Just like raising Spirit Beast, raising spirit insects also requires setting up Insect Nest.

However, the difference between the two is that if you want to raise a jackal, tiger, or leopard, you can make do with it even if there is no suitable habitat.

As long as it's not something like throwing it in water or burying it in the ground.

It just means they'll grow a little slower; generally, there won't be any major problems.

However, most of these insects are quite 'delicate', especially during their larval stage; without a suitable breeding environment, they will simply die.

Not only do the breeding environments differ, but the animals fed to them are also crucial.

Most Spirit Beast also want to eat good food.

But as long as they can be fed and won't starve, at most they'll be a little thinner when they grow up, and their maturity will come a little later.

However, for spirit insects...

If the animals are not fed suitable food regularly, the produce will be substandard "defective products," which is equivalent to wasting time and effort.

But these are not the most crucial differences.

Most importantly, the vast majority of insects have low Spiritual Intelligence and Lifespan far shorter than that of Spirit Beast of the same level.

The former means that they are almost impossible to 'tame', and the risk of Devour Master is higher when there is a difference in cultivation level between the master and the spirit insect.

The latter means that even if you manage to cultivate a qualified spirit insect, it will be in vain.

It may only take a few decades or even a hundred or two to reach the end of its Lifespan and die.

However, the reason why spirit insects became a large category, even almost independent of Spirit Beast, and became a separate Dao Arts, is that...

This is because, while it has the aforementioned drawbacks, it also has many corresponding advantages.

For example, compared to raising Spirit Beast, a large habitat might be required.

Raising spirit insects only requires maintaining a small section of their Insect Nest.

Unlike high-level Spirit Beast, which are often several zhang, or even tens or hundreds of zhang in size.

Many spirit insects are only the size of a soybean, and many high-level spirit insects are even smaller, only the size of a mung bean, or even about the size of a grain of millet.

In addition, although spirit insects have high requirements for food quality, their diet is much more extensive.

Many spirit insects can directly consume spirit medicine or spirit wood, and some can even consume spirit minerals.

To put it simply, the feeding costs are a bit higher, but as long as you can afford it, it's not difficult to solve.

Finally, here are the two most crucial points.

First, insects have low Spiritual Intelligence, which means they are almost fearless when fighting.

They will carry out any command given by their owner, even if that command involves biting off the head of their companion or even themselves.

To put it simply, it's very useful as a tool.

Secondly, the short Lifespan of the insect means that its cultivation cycle is also short.

Most spirit insects only need a few short years to grow from hatching to adulthood.

Compared to the growth period of Spirit Beast, which often takes decades or even hundreds of years.

This timeframe is shockingly short.

Simply put, if there are enough Insect Egg and enough spiritual items, raising spiritual insects can quickly build up combat power.

"So from this perspective, Spirit Beast and spirit insects are indeed fundamentally different."

Xiao Chen finally summarized the situation. "Although both are helpful for cultivators in combat, they each have their own advantages and disadvantages."

"Raising Spirit Beast is like taking a steady, long-term approach to development."

"Although the training period is relatively long, the time it will be effective in the future is also longer."

"If raised properly, it can even be passed down to future generations, making it even more suitable for the long-term development of sects and Lineage."

"Raising spirit insects is a gamble, aiming to gain the greatest combat power boost in a short period of time."

"Forget about inheritance; most spirit insects have short Lifespan, and their intelligence is not conducive to recognizing a new master."

"If the strength of future generations is insufficient, they might even suffer a direct backlash."

"What if we spend a lot of resources and then the spirit insects run out?"

"Then we can only say focus on immediate combat strength and not think too much about the future. We'll deal with the future when the time comes."

Given these circumstances, it's clear that the path of spirit insects is more niche than the path of Spirit Beast, and there are indeed reasons for that.

Sects and Lineage generally dislike such short-term speculation.

Because the risk is too great, if other forces tacitly join forces to counterbalance it, then all your investment will be lost.

Only rogue cultivators might be inclined to gamble their resources to see if they can use the combat power boost brought by the spirit insects to earn more resources for themselves.

However, as everyone knows, it is a big problem for independent practitioners to support themselves.

Of course, there is one special case.

That is to say, for Xiao Chen, he has relatively sufficient resources at his disposal, and he does not need to worry about long-term interests.

Spirit insects need to be fed by high-level spirit creatures, but they are not picky eaters?

That's easy. He already has a large amount of spirit wood and spirit ore from the Yin Corpse Sect and the Heavenly Sound Sect in his Storage Ring.

Is it possible that the Lifespan of a spirit insect is only a hundred years or even a few decades?

Then it doesn't matter at all.

For Xiao Chen, it would be more than enough to use it temporarily for three to five years.

Furthermore, the shorter training period that results from this is exactly what he wanted.

"Looking at it this way, it seems like I could try cultivating Soul Devouring Fire Roach."

Xiao Chen thought for a moment and said, "Before reaching the Spirit Transformation stage, including right after breaking through, we can rely on it to temporarily hold our own."

"Once I break through and stabilize my cultivation, it won't matter at all even if my Lifespan ends."

However, there is still a problem: there are almost no records about the Demonic Insect in the Golden Haze Sect.

It merely mentioned that there were ten High Antiquity Demonic Insect, each one extremely ferocious.

Objectively speaking, this is actually quite normal.

After all, the Golden Haze Sect is not a demonic sect, and they don't even raise spirit insects.

Therefore, it's understandable that they lack knowledge about the Demonic Insect.

"But the problem is, even if we do that, we still don't know how big the difference is between spirit insects and Demonic Insect."

Thinking of this, Xiao Chen frowned slightly. "The most crucial point is that we don't know the breeding environment and diet of the Soul Devouring Fire Roach, so it's not good to act recklessly."

He had just learned that larvae are very likely to die without a suitable breeding environment.

Moreover, we only have one Insect Egg, so we can't just waste it.

"The problem is that in this area, there isn't another force in the Eastern Domain that excels at it."

Xiao Chen has already visited the Sutra Scripture Pavilion Universal Salvation Temple.

However, they don't know much about Spirit Beast and spirit insects either.

"But I remember there were Gu Cultivator in the Western Region, weren't there?"

Xiao Chen thought about it carefully, "Gu Worm are worms, and Demonic Insect are worms, so they should be pretty much the same."

"At the very least, they're all insects. Perhaps they know more about the Demonic Insect over there."

"Even if we could obtain the inheritance of the native Demonic Sect in the Western Region, we should be able to learn about the Demonic Insect from it."

"In that case, how about we find a way to go to the Western Region?"

"Oh dear, isn't that a bit too much trouble?"

Xiao Chen felt that if he traveled all the way to the Western Region, it would easily become superfluous.

The key issue is that the eastern and western regions are far apart, and even if you go there, you might not immediately gain anything; it could take a long time.

If they had used that time to focus on cultivation, they might have been able to break through to the Spirit Transformation sooner.

"However, with the opening of the Vast Sea Secret Realm Inner Realm this time, there will probably be Gu Cultivator from the Western Region participating, right?"

Xiao Chen thought for a moment and set his sights on the Secret Realm: "If I wander around the Inner Realm, it shouldn't be difficult to encounter Nascent Soul True Lord from the Western Region."

"Then we can ask them about the situation."

"Or you could just buy a copy of the inheritance about spirit insects."

The Vast Sea Secret Realm was much closer, and he had originally planned to go to the Inner Realm to search for treasures anyway.

It's basically just an extra little thing that happens along the way.

"I'm such a little genius!"

Xiao Chen was proud of his cleverness. "I actually came up with such a good idea!"

Then a thought struck him, "That's right, there's also the Exchange Meet that's about to take place!"

"There will be Hidden Dao Heritage and the Azure Mist Commerce Association participating."

"Perhaps they also have relevant intelligence, or rather, ways to obtain intelligence."

"Anyway, we can try asking when the time comes."

As the saying goes, you can try your luck whether you have dates or not.

Asking about the situation costs nothing, so why not?

If this can truly solve the problem, we can start cultivating Soul Devouring Fire Roach sooner.

This is something you should definitely enjoy as soon as you get it.

Although a Fifth-Order Spirit Insect is certainly no match for a true Spirit Transformation Venerable.

But to possess a Fifth-Order Spirit Insect while still in the Nascent Soul Realm is simply incredible.

"Yes, this matter needs to be taken seriously and handled properly."

Xiao Chen secretly decided that he would start cultivating the Soul Devouring Fire Roach as soon as possible without taking up too much of his energy.

Then, thinking that since we were already there...

He also browsed through the rest of the books in the Scripture Pavilion, and in doing so, gained a deeper understanding of the Golden Haze Sect.

"Wait a minute, something's not right."

Xiao Chen suddenly realized that, according to the records in the Scripture Pavilion, the Golden Haze Sect should also have a guardian Spirit Beast at the Nascent Soul Middle Stage stage.

The problem is that he's been here for several days and hasn't noticed anything amiss.

It should be noted that Nascent Soul Spirit Beast beasts are enormous in size.

He also didn't find any so-called habitat near Rising Haze Mountain.

Surely it's not that the Golden Haze Sect mistreats its own Sect Protecting Spirit Beast?

Honestly, that's a bit unlikely.

For a Beast Taming Sect, Spirit Beast are practically pillars, even equivalent to a second Grand Elder.

There is absolutely no reason why they should be treated unfairly.

Out of curiosity, after reading the rest of the books, Xiao Chen went outside to ask Golden Whip True Monarch for details.

He had barely finished asking the question when he saw a strange expression on the other person's face.

It was as if he was embarrassed, or as if he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Alas, Daoist Xiao, you are unaware of this matter... it's a long story."

Golden Whip True Monarch subconsciously shook his head slightly, revealing a helpless bitter smile, "To be honest, our sect does indeed have another Gray Feather True Monarch."

"However, I don't usually like staying at the sect."

"This story begins nearly ten thousand years ago, at that time..."

It took the Golden Whip True Monarch about half an hour to explain the whole story.

In short, nearly 10,000 years ago, the ancestors of the Golden Haze Sect, while exploring north of the Storm Sea with their friends, unexpectedly obtained a bird egg.

As Beast Tamer, that True Lord certainly wouldn't be thinking of cooking it and tasting it like Xiao Chen did.

Instead, they brought him back and carefully nurtured him, hoping to add another True Lord -level combatant to the sect.

The result was one good news and one bad news.

The good news is that the spirit bird actually underwent Bloodline Mutation during its growth, gaining additional Innate Ability.

The bad news is that the mutation is actually aimed at longevity, rather than the combat power that the Golden Haze Sect lacks.

That's right, that ' Gray Feather True Monarch ' has lived for nearly ten thousand years.

If the Golden Whip True Monarch were to encounter it, he would have to address it as Grand Master Uncle according to seniority.

This raises a problem.

That means that starting from the previous generation, no one in the Golden Haze Sect could control this spirit bird.

In terms of seniority, it holds the highest seniority within the entire sect.

In terms of strength, over such a long period of time, that spirit bird had already cultivated to the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul Middle Stage.

He was stuck at Minor Bottleneck simply because his Dao Comprehension was insufficient.

Anyway, he's much more powerful than the Golden Whip True Monarch, who's only at the Nascent Soul Early Stage.

Therefore, this 'living ancestor' simply couldn't be bothered to listen to the opinions of his juniors, nor did he want to contribute to the sect.

They spend their days idly, eating and waiting to die, doing absolutely nothing.

My biggest hobby is going to the North Sea to catch some Spirit Fish whenever I have free time.

At first, I only went there occasionally.

Then he started running back and forth between the two ends.

Then it became a matter of coming back only occasionally.

In the end, he simply chose not to come back when there was nothing else to do.

"I'm not afraid of being laughed at by Daoist Xiao if I say this."

The Golden Whip True Monarch spoke with a hint of self-deprecation, "Unless we face a catastrophe that wipes out our entire clan, I'm afraid we can no longer persuade that person to come."

"But even so, we can't really turn against each other."

"We have no choice but to just let things take their course."

Having been released for so long without any restraint, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that they've become wild Demon Beast.

But as Golden Whip True Monarch said, what could they do?

There's nothing we can do about it, so we can only let it drag on like this.

Let's see if we can wait until that ' Gray Feather True Monarch ' changes his mind.

Alternatively, another powerful Nascent Soul True Lord could emerge from within the sect, be tamed again, and brought back.

"I see, that's quite a strange thing."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Chen offered a few words of comfort.

The two then exchanged some polite words.

Midway through, Golden Whip True Monarch enthusiastically summoned three disciples from his sect, saying he wanted to demonstrate their skills to Xiao Chen.

However, the focus is not on their own abilities, but on the three Mutated Spirit Beast they each tamed.

The first one is Two-Headed Tiger that wields both ice and fire powers.

The second one is the Flipping Wing Bird, whose maximum sprint speed is twice as fast as the fastest Spirit Shuttle.

The third one is the most interesting; it's a mutated Iron-Eating Beast with the ability to forge its body.

It can imitate the Body Cultivator techniques of body cultivators, and not just for show, but in a very realistic way, with real skills that can be used in actual combat.

Xiao Chen nodded slightly after reading it. "Wow, not bad."

"I like to tell the truth, and these three Spirit Beast do indeed have some unique characteristics."

"Especially this Iron-Eating Beast, it seems destined for greatness."

His words were half sincere and half a compliment.

But this also made Golden Whip True Monarch very happy, his face filled with a genuine smile, "Since they have received praise from Daoist Xiao, it means that they have indeed done a good job."

The three disciples smiled upon hearing this, and were very happy.

This is praise from the True Lord, something I can boast about to my fellow disciples in the future.

"Now that I've seen the performance, I naturally won't leave empty-handed. However, since this is our first meeting, I couldn't prepare anything special beforehand."

Xiao Chen pulled out a bottle of Third-Order Spirit Pill from the Heavenly Sound Sect's warehouse from his Sundries Ring: "Here's a bottle of Winter Grass Essence Gathering Pill, exactly three pills."

"You guys should be able to use it, go and distribute it."

Since he had borrowed someone else's Scripture Pavilion, he should at least show some appreciation, regardless of how much he gained, especially since Third-Order Spirit Pill weren't worth much to him.

Nevertheless, the three disciples all showed joy upon seeing the elixir.

They all turned to look at their own True Lord, their eyes filled with anticipation.

"Oh, Daoist Xiao, you're too kind."

Golden Whip True Monarch smiled at Xiao Chen first, then turned to instruct, "Since Daoist Xiao is so inclined, then you may proceed."

The leading disciple then stepped forward, respectfully accepted the elixir with both hands, and the three of them bowed and expressed their gratitude.

Then they exchanged some ordinary pleasantries.

Xiao Chen then got up to take his leave.

This time, he deliberately went to the south side, and after passing through the Nether Sky Sea, he came directly to the front of Ten Thousand Immortals Archipelago.

He had walked this road once before.

If you revisit the same place, it feels like nothing has changed.

But that's normal, considering it's only been less than six years, which is a very short time for the Cultivation World, so it's unlikely there will be any major changes.

Xiao Chen deliberately slowed down and scanned the sign below with his Divine Sense.

Ironically, Chen Xiao's Wanted Notice still hanging there.

Surprisingly, the number one spot still belongs to that White Beard who doesn't have a portrait.

Xiao Chen noticed that his information had been updated, now appearing to be at the peak of the Golden Core Great Perfection.

Meanwhile, his total bounty has increased from the original 4.8 million Spirit Stone to 5.2 million Spirit Stone.

"Five million Spirit Stone is enough for me to make a trip to the New Cultivation World."

Xiao Chen was quite shocked when he saw this number back then, and he's still somewhat tempted now. "If I could meet this guy, it would be a windfall."

Of course, it's okay if you don't meet them.

Firstly, he has enough Spirit Stone for the time being.

Of course, no one would complain about having too much of this stuff; if one could get another five million in windfall, that would be a good thing too.

Secondly, Xiao Chen is currently on his way to settle scores with the Ten Thousand Immortals Island Jin Family.

After it's all over, we should be able to seize another one or two million Spirit Stone as well.